The essential Anastasia, a cult inspired by the regulations of Vladimir Mégré, a Russian entrepreneur accused of anti-Semitism, is worrying the Austrian authorities.
Ines and Norman Kosin dropped everything to bring to life in the Austrian countryside the bidding of Anastasia, a Russian cult classified as far-right that advocates a return to nature and is fueled by the Covid-19 pandemic.
For the couple, paradise is this remote area that was unearthed three years ago. Located in the south of Burgenland on the border with Hungary, it would be the ideal place to plant a church inspired by the novels of Wladimir Megre, accused of anti-Semitism.
A mysterious woman with powers
Between 1996 and 2010, the Russian entrepreneur published ten volumes in which he recounts his encounter in the Siberian taiga with Anastasia, a mysterious woman with long blond hair endowed with supernatural powers. He wrote there the advice she had given him on his visits to leave the industrial society which, through its contempt for nature, would leave the field open to “dark forces” who would steer them toward world catastrophe. Vladimir Megre becomes his prophet and offers every family the opportunity to rediscover the purity of their origins by starting a permaculture farm aimed at food self-sufficiency.
Norman Kosin, 36 like his wife, looks out over the surrounding fields and ignites what he calls his “place of love” that will likely bring together “a hundred families”. “Imagine a doctor, midwife, craftsman and woodcutter evolving side by side,” in harmony, he says, touching his cedarwood locket, which he says “feels like it’s absorbing the positive energy.” .
concern in Europe
A way of life widespread in Russia, where Vladimir Megre says there were 400 settlement initiatives in 2019. In Germany, Switzerland and Austria, Norman Kosin, a figure in the movement also known online as Felix von Elysion – named after the community he hopes to see – has between 3,000 and 4,000 followers.
If those numbers can’t be independently verified, a recent Austrian report worries about a new frenzy. “The Covid-19 pandemic has given Anastasia a significant boost in German-speaking countries,” where she encounters a far-right Antivax movement, the Documentation Fund on Religiously Motivated Political Extremism wrote in November. Beyond the Germanic world, there are active members in other European countries, from Portugal to Bulgaria.
In France, where national meetings on the subject were held last week, the interministerial mission (Miviludes) in charge of combating these phenomena also noted a “significant increase” in sectarian aberrations related to the health crisis.
conspiracy and anti-Semitism
Former tourist accommodation manager Norman Kosin, long gray hair and full beard, confirms anti-Covid restrictions have reinforced his beliefs. Running aground against the vaccine, he and his wife had no choice but to subject their daughters to the school’s mandatory nose tests and “indoctrination.”
In addition to a channel dedicated to Anastasia, he participates in the animation of conspiratorial channels on Telegram with almost 250,000 subscribers, where he notably denounces the “lies” of the media.
With the pandemic, conspiracy theories have “experienced a massive boom,” confirms Ulrike Schiesser, head of the Federal Office for Cult Affairs, in an interview with AFP. In the Anastasia movement, she sees an esoteric concept that seemingly “contains all sorts of harmless ideas for a better life”. But “it poses a problem,” she believes, because “it positions itself against democracy, the state, or science,” presenting itself as the way forward for an “elite” that adheres to the truth and called to separate ordinary ignorant mortals.
This expert also notes “the anti-Semitic elements clearly present in the sect’s books” and “generally ignored, denied or downplayed, as if one could not criticize the guru’s writings”. “Because of the two or three chapters, everyone who reads the works is classified as a National Socialist,” Norman Kosin sweeps effectively when asked about this topic.
In view of the expansion of the movement, the Austrian authorities are sounding the alarm and, due to a lack of funds, Ines and Felix’s project could come to an end. Since they cannot prove that they have sufficient income to stay in Austria, they are threatened with a deportation notice to their home country of Germany.